I think you’re right and it WILL blow up the gov’t. Why do I say that?
One of the things that some on the Left have never really understood that the Right has always understood is the power of the courts and what it means to pack those courts with right wing freaks.
There are going to be some important cases going before SCOTUS this year and they will most likely go in favor of what a small minority in this country favor. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone tries to challenge Roe v. Wade. Gorsuch would vote, - “life.” Or, if a national concept of “Right To Work” is brought before the court.
If this country isn’t burning by 2020, I’d be surprised.
I think Democrats have been strategizing over this for months and determined that they can make this into a fundraising issue for 2018 and 2020.
Basically just rolling the dice that we can get a Senate in our favor in the next four years and nope no one on the SCOTUS dies or retires. (kind of morbid, but true).
It is not, perhaps, unreasonable to conclude, that a pure and perfect democracy is a thing not attainable by man, constituted as he is of contending elements of vice and virtue, and ever mainly influenced by the predominant principle of self-interest. It may, indeed, be confidently asserted, that there never was that government called a republic, which was not ultimately ruled by a single will, and, therefore, (however bold may seem the paradox,) virtually and substantially a monarchy.
The problem is that Americans either didn’t know or didn’t care enough to hold them accountable. The Trump Circus overshadowed everything, and GOP Senators were not held to account by their constituents for obstructing the nomination of Garland.
Gorsuch is going to be a SCOTUS Justice. Even if his name carries a figurative asterisk like Barry Bonds’s hall of fame induction, he will still vote on and write far right originalist opinions.
Notwithstanding the political ramifications of today’s votes on 2018 and 2020, the best thing for the country going forward is to amend the constitution to set a date by which the current president must nominate a justice, and a subsequent date by which the Senate must hold a vote. There will be good arguments about whether the nominee may be made at any time, or prior to the election in the last year of the president’s term, or even 6, 9, or 12 months prior.
But we need to settle on something so this doesn’t happen again. While this may appear to hurt the GOP more as they currently hold the Senate and White House, the hypocrisy of voting against a constitutional amendment after denying the nomination of Garland would be 100x worse than the hypocrisy they are currently exhibiting. This is a long term solution for the health of our constitutional democracy.
O I totally agree that something has to be done and I want it to be a priority when we get the majority back. That was one of the dirtiest fucking tricks I’ve ever seen - refusing a hearing on Obama’s nominee.
We have got to make sure that they can’t ever do that again.
I don’t see this as being the end of the world. Democrats can turn this to our advantage if we start winning Senate seats. That means organizing at the state level.
It only is the end of the world in that McConnell gave the constitution whiplash with this trick - the legislative usurped the power of the Executive by denying Obama’s nominee a hearing.
That makes Gorsuch an invalid nominee as far as I’m concerned. We had a nominee. He should have had a hearing. If Gorsuch takes his seat, then McConnell will have successfully scorched the corners off the constitution.
You Republics will pay and pay dearly for obstructing and stealing this SCOTUS seat. I promise you our memory is forever and when the time is right, you will pay a very high political price.
So you are just hurt because McConnell played the politics game. Sorry that isn’t giving the constitution whiplash.
Of course Gorsuch is going to be a Supreme Court justice who won’t support our point of view, but so are Alito, Roberts and Thomas. All four of them are political appointees.
If you want to get the last laugh in just win Senate seats in 2018 and 2020.
I happen to think McConnell made a giant mistake, but it is only a mistake if we assume the Democratic party is not going to continue conceding a significant number of states. If the Democrats organize in Texas, Georgia, Missouri and a few other states, for example, they can win back the Senate very easily. That is going to require Democrats to reach out of their current enclaves.
That is total bullshit. The filibuster wounds the constitution. It is decidedly anti-democratic. You are just butt hurt because you don’t want to work hard to win additional senate seats.
